As is well known, the harvesting of bulb crops such as onions, beets, radishes, turnips, garlic and the like (collectively referred to herein as “crops”) present particular difficulties that make harvesting such crops more difficult and expensive than many other types of crops. Typically, the useful bulb portion of these crops grow in the soil with roots growing down from the useful portion and top plant material growing upward above the soil. To harvest the crops, the entire plant must first be extracted from the ground and then the roots and tops must be cut off. Harvesting these crops by hand is a very expensive, labor intensive process requiring a significant number of laborers to extract the crops and then separate the bulb from the roots and tops. As a result, mechanical harvesters for harvesting these crops have been in use for a number of years.
However, mechanical harvesters have also suffered from a number of difficulties. Specifically, many mechanical harvesters have problems with nicking, cutting, and/or bruising of the crop bulb. In order to efficiently harvest the bulb crops without inducing severe bruising, nicking, and/or cutting of the bulb by the machinery, the crop is harvested when the surrounding soil contains sufficient moisture to adhere slightly to the crop when lifted. While aiding in the initial harvest of the bulb crop, the inclusion of an appropriate amount of moisture is also conducive to the production of dirt clods and other cull items that are difficult to mechanically distinguish from the desired crop.